Is ginger good for high blood pressure

Is Ginger Good for High Blood Pressure?

“Is Ginger good for high blood pressure?”  It definitely is! In fact, this quality of ginger is one of the most acknowledged and beneficial properties of this spice.

A lot of people around the world suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension). Although it's a prevalent problem, some people still have a hard time battling it. Medicines can be hard on the body, and they don't always work for everyone. This is where the power of ginger comes to play!

Being a natural healing substance, ginger is preferred by many hypertension patients to manage their condition in a way that doesn't put their health at risk.

Ginger for high blood pressure 

Ginger is not only a spice that gives your food a peculiar aroma and savory flavor, but also a natural healer for many illnesses; high blood pressure being the most common among them. Due to these medicinal properties of ginger, it has been an essential part of several traditional healing practices for years, including Ayurveda.

The chemical composition of ginger is such that it makes ginger highly beneficial for health, helping people control debilitating conditions such as blood pressure for thousands of years!

Ginger’s powerful antioxidants

A question might be arising in your brain right now, “How does ginger help control blood pressure?”  The answer lies in its chemical composition and the active compounds present in ginger.  Some of these active compounds are gingerols, shogaols and zingeroles, all of which are potent antioxidants. These antioxidants contribute to a wide range of health-influencing properties of ginger, including those which help lower blood pressure.

4 WAYS IN WHICH GINGER HELPS LOWER HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

Although the exact mechanism of action of ginger to lower blood pressure hasn't been revealed yet, scientists speculate that there are certain ways in which ginger helps achieve this goal:

1. IMPROVES BLOOD CIRCULATION

Poor blood circulation is one of the most significant contributors to high blood pressure. It's essential to have a proper blood flow throughout the body to keep your blood pressure within the healthy limits.

Ginger is believed to be a mild stimulant - A substance that mildly stimulates the central nervous system, thereby speeding up the brain's neural activity. One of the effects of this stimulation is improved blood circulation.

But, how is the blood circulation improved? The answer is ginger works as a vasodilator! It means that ginger helps dilate (expand) the blood vessels. This expansion of the blood vessels allows the blood to flow freely through them, and this is how blood circulation is improved in the body.

Ginger helps improve blood circulation by relaxing the muscles surrounding blood vessels. When these muscles are in a contracted state, the blood flowing inside the vessels experience stress, which obstructs blood flow. Therefore, the muscle-relaxing effect of ginger reduces the stress put on the blood, resulting in improved blood circulation.

When blood circulation is improved throughout the body, the blood flow stabilizes, and blood pressure is automatically controlled.

2. PREVENTS THE FORMATION OF BLOOD CLOTS 

As mentioned earlier, poor blood circulation leads to high blood pressure. Poor blood circulation isn't something that happens without any reason; It may occur as a result of several problems, including blood clots!

Now what are blood clots and how do they affect blood pressure? Blood clots are gel-like, semi-solid clumps of blood that may form in your blood vessels. We will not go into the details of how and why blood clots are formed, but one thing to note here is that blood clots restrict the flow of blood in the circulatory system. As our circulatory system is a dense, highly-interconnected system, if blood clots are formed in some arteries/veins, it will affect the entire system's blood flow. This results in elevated blood pressure.

Coming to the main point, higher prevents the formation of blood clots. By doing so, it decreases the risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure) and helps prevent heart diseases.

3. LOWERS CHOLESTEROL AND LDL

While cholesterol is essential for the body in many ways, it may create many harmful effects on the body if it exceeds its healthy limits.

One of such harmful effects of high blood cholesterol is hypertension. LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or bad cholesterol, may also lead to hypertension. This is because both blood-cholesterol and LDL may form a sticky plaque along the internal lining of blood vessels. This plaque constricts the blood vessels by shortening their diameter and reducing their elasticity. This affects blood flow and may result in high blood pressure.

Ginger helps lower the total blood cholesterol and the bad cholesterol (LDL), thereby preventing them from forming plaque and ultimately reducing the risk of high blood pressure.

4. THE POWER OF POTASSIUM 

The power of minerals can't be underestimated. Many minerals have potential health benefits, and so does potassium.

Ginger is rich in potassium. 100 g of ginger contains approximately 415 mg of potassium, which is quite a huge amount.

The reason why we're discussing the potassium content of ginger is potassium helps lower blood pressure, and this is suggested from research. This may be one of the ways ginger helps lower blood pressure.

Relevant Research

The use of ginger for controlling high blood pressure is not something new. Although people have practiced it for decades, there was no scientific evidence in the past to back its authenticity. Now science is backing up the efficacy of ginger to control high blood pressure. Many studies have proven that ginger can treat high blood pressure, for example:

• Study of the University of Ilorin

This study was performed in Nigeria by the University of Ilorin.

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of ginger on heart rate and blood pressure.

This study was conducted on 60 people, 40 of which were made to administer ginger water, whereas the remaining 20 consumed ordinary water.

The subjects that consumed ginger water experienced a considerable decrease in their heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure.

How to use ginger to reduce blood pressure 

Ginger roots are spicy, delicious, and healthy. Due to the numerous health benefits of ginger and its taste-enhancing ability, people add it in their food recipes. It can be incorporated into the diet in a variety of ways: Can be made into a tea, added to salads, soups or can simply be consumed in the form of ginger water.

Ginger is available in different forms: Dried, fresh and in the form of supplements and capsules. You can choose any of the forms of ginger, as per your preference and convenience, and make it a part of your diet to keep your blood pressure controlled.

If your main objective is to use ginger for its blood pressure-lowering effects, and you want to incorporate ginger into your daily diet in a way that doesn't take much time, then ginger tea and Ginger-beetroot juice are the best choices for you :

• Basic ginger tea

Ginger tea has many benefits besides controlling blood pressure. It is a calorie-free beverage that aids digestion and helps with nausea and stomach disturbances.

This soothing, healthy beverage is great for winters as it gives a warming effect. The best part is it's super easy to make. All you've to do is:

1. Grab some fresh ginger (about 1 inch for 1 cup).
2. Rinse it and remove any dirt present on its skin.
3. Thinly slice the ginger without peeling it.
4. Take one cup of freshwater. Put it into a saucepan and add the ginger slice into the water.
5. Give it a quick boil then lower the heat and cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
6. Take a fine sieve, put it over a cup and pour the tea through the sieve.
7. Your ginger tea is ready!

If you want to a sweet touch to your tea, you can top it up with some honey or maple syrup.

• Ginger and beetroot juice

Another easy way of using ginger for blood pressure is to combine it with other vegetables that have the same health benefits (such as beetroot) and make juice out of them.

If you're not a tea person and want to have something more flavorful and healthy, then this is how you can do it:

1. Take 1 medium-sized beetroot. Wash it, peel it and cut it in four.
2. Take 1tbsp of fresh ginger. Peel it and finely chop it.
3. Take 2 large carrots and cut them in pieces.
4. Take 1tsp lemon zest.
5. Combine all the vegetables into a blender and blend it until smooth. If the juice is too thick, you can always balance it by adding some water.
6. Take a glass, place a mesh strainer over it and carefully pour your juice through it.
7. Your healthy, Ginger-beetroot juice is ready!

Final word

Ginger is great for reducing high blood pressure, and this claim is supported by research. There are several ways you can incorporate ginger into your diet to reap its blood pressure-lowering effects, but make sure not to consume it in excess.

References 

1. https://www.ndtv.com/health/not-just-diabetes-this-common-kitchen-ingredient-can-help-reduce-blood-pressure-as-well-1984353
2. https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/take-ginger-say-good-bye-high-blood-pressure/#how-does-ginger-help-lower-high-blood-pressure
3. https://www.resperate.com/blog/hypertension/diet/healthy-foods/healing-root-ginger-reduces-high-blood-pressure
4. https://www.herbazest.com/herbs/ginger/ginger-and-blood-pressure
5. https://www.academia.edu/8835075/The_Effect_of_Zingiber_Officinale_Ginger_Extract_on_Blood_Pressure_and_Heart_Rate_in_Healthy_Humans
6. https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/hypertension-diet-this-beetroot-and-ginger-juice-may-help-keep-your-bp-stable-2155196
7. https://cookieandkate.com/fresh-ginger-tea-recipe/